The Clinton Administration, in a switch from the government's earlier position, said Tuesday that an employer can lay off a white worker and retain an equally qualified black worker to preserve the "diversity" of its work force. In a legal brief filed in a federal appeals court, the Justice Department came to the defense of a New Jersey school district that had used that reasoning in 1989 when it dismissed a white high school teacher while preserving the job of a black teacher.

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details. Dr. Christian Head, a surgeon at UCLA's medical school, will receive $4.5 million to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit against the UC Board of Regents, the university system announced Thursday. The agreement settles the lawsuit , filed in April, which accused the university of failing to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation against Head. The head and neck surgeon alleged that he was retaliated against for filing complaints through normal channels and was denied teaching opportunities.

I must admit, I am quite disturbed by the passage of Prop. 209. In this supposed "colorblind" state, I was struck by the story ("United by Anger," Nov. 6) about African American men being pulled over for DWB (driving while black). I can relate. When I was in law school, I was the editor of the Boalt Hall chapter of the Black Law Journal. While driving through UCLA's campus with a friend of mine (another black law student) to meet with my UCLA counterpart, we encountered a patrol car of UCLA's finest.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has devoted decades to giving meaning to the Constitution's promise of equality for all before the law. Now, as the court heads into the final two weeks of this year's term, the justices may be about to close one chapter of that long story even as they open a new one. The court is set to decide whether to pull back on 1960s-era remedies for racial discrimination that critics say have outlived their need. One case tests a race-based affirmative action policy at the University of Texas that gives an advantage to black and Latino students.

The U.S. government sued Albertsons Inc., saying the supermarket chain failed to protect black and Latino employees from harassment since 1995. Albertsons didn't adequately respond to employee complaints about drawings of swastikas and nooses at its distribution center in Aurora, Colo., the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a lawsuit. The company also discriminated against minorities when assigning jobs and enforcing disciplinary rules, the suit said.

Bernard C. Duse Jr. never thought that being black posed any problems that he couldn't overcome. "I have always said whatever problems I will hit in that regard, I will overcome that, and I have always done that by simply working harder and putting my shoulder to the wheel . . . to work harder to overcome that," Duse said. His life seemed unlikely to prove him wrong, until January 1984, when he complained of racial discrimination at IBM, his employer of 14 years.

Five black firefighters sued the Inglewood Fire Department and the firefighters' union Tuesday, claiming that they were denied equal treatment and promotions because of racism in the department. The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that the Fire Department has no black management personnel, even though the city is more than 40% African American.

A class-action lawsuit filed by two Nashville men who alleged that ABC's "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" dating shows intentionally excluded people of color has been dismissed. Lawyers for Nathaniel Claybrooks, described as an "All-American football player" and Christopher Johnson, described as "an aspiring National Football League player," had claimed in U.S. District Court that both shows over the last 10 years and 23 combined seasons had never featured a person of color in the central role.

Twenty-four African American pilots and supervisors at United Air Lines filed a lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the airline of a pattern of discrimination that has kept them from being promoted. The suit, filed in U.S District Court in San Francisco, contends that all 24 employees have worked for United or Continental Airlines, which recently merged with United, for more than 14 years and have been illegally passed over for promotions because of their race. "We have endured a habitual, longstanding pattern of discriminatory behavior at the hands of United Air Lines," Terry Haynie, a United pilot said in a statement.

Otto Rutherford, 89, a former leader of the Portland chapter of the NAACP who fought successfully in Oregon's state Legislature to outlaw discrimination in housing, restaurants and amusement parks. Born in Portland to one of the state's first black families, Rutherford and his wife, Verdell, led the Portland chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People in 1953, when it confronted the Legislature with a bill to outlaw discrimination in public facilities in Oregon.

February 27, 2013 | By David G. Savage and David Lauter, Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - The historic Voting Rights Act appeared to be in deep trouble Wednesday after the Supreme Court's conservative justices argued during a racially charged debate that targeting the South for special scrutiny was no longer fair. The unusually tense discussion split along ideological lines. Justices from the left and right took turns arguing the case - and arguing with one another over whether racism and racial discrimination remain problems. At one point, Justice Antonin Scalia referred to the law as a "perpetuation of racial entitlement," a phrase that irked Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who voiced strong objection earlier this week to a Texas prosecutor's focus on defendants' race.

A class-action lawsuit filed by two Nashville men who alleged that ABC's "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" dating shows intentionally excluded people of color has been dismissed. Lawyers for Nathaniel Claybrooks, described as an "All-American football player" and Christopher Johnson, described as "an aspiring National Football League player," had claimed in U.S. District Court that both shows over the last 10 years and 23 combined seasons had never featured a person of color in the central role.

Twenty-four African American pilots and supervisors at United Air Lines filed a lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the airline of a pattern of discrimination that has kept them from being promoted. The suit, filed in U.S District Court in San Francisco, contends that all 24 employees have worked for United or Continental Airlines, which recently merged with United, for more than 14 years and have been illegally passed over for promotions because of their race. "We have endured a habitual, longstanding pattern of discriminatory behavior at the hands of United Air Lines," Terry Haynie, a United pilot said in a statement.

Robert Hill did not join the Los Angeles Police Department to become a millionaire. And yet, that's what happened in September when city officials cut the veteran cop and his lawyer a check for nearly $4 million. The money was compensation for the snide comments and other abuse Hill suffered at the hands of other LAPD officers after he reported that a supervisor used racial slurs and embezzled department funds. In the last decade, at least 16 other officers have won million-dollar-plus jury verdicts or settlements from the city in lawsuits in which they leveled accusations of sexual harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation and other workplace injustices.

When home furnishing giant Ikea selected this fraying blue-collar city to build its first U.S. factory, residents couldn't believe their good fortune. Beloved by consumers worldwide for its stylish and affordable furniture, the Swedish firm had also constructed a reputation as a good employer and solid corporate citizen. State and local officials offered $12 million in incentives. Residents thrilled at the prospect of a respected foreign company bringing jobs to this former textile region after watching so many flee overseas.

Elgin Baylor on Friday dropped part of his wrongful-termination lawsuit that alleged the Clippers and owner Donald Sterling committed racial discrimination against him when Baylor was a team executive. Baylor, 76, is pressing ahead with the rest of his wrongful-termination claim that he suffered age discrimination and was unjustly fired. Baylor was the team's executive vice president and general manager for 22 years until August 2008. The defendants ? who also include team President Andy Roeser and the NBA ?

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Thursday postponed until Monday a ruling on a state regulators' request that the court take First Alliance Mortgage out of the hands of its management. The Department of Corporations sued the Orange-based home loan broker Wednesday, accusing it of a longstanding pattern of racial discrimination in its lending practices. The state seeks orders appointing a receiver and forbidding management to tamper with the company's records.

The Chino Valley Unified School District has settled a lawsuit that accused Chino Hills Ayala High with fostering a racially hostile environment within its basketball program, the second such case to be settled before it went to trial. Without conceding any wrongdoing, Chino Valley Unified will pay $75,000 to former Ayala basketball player Henry Frierson and his mother, Sherelle Johnson.

The management company that runs a popular Hilton hotel in the heart of San Gabriel's Asian community agreed Wednesday to pay $500,000 to settle two lawsuits filed by former Latino workers alleging racial discrimination and sexual harassment. When Landwin Management Inc. took over management of the hotel in 2005, some Latino banquet servers were fired and replaced with less qualified Chinese workers, according to attorneys at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which represented about two dozen former Hilton employees in the case.

The city of South Gate has paid out $18 million to settle lawsuits filed by a group of officers who said they faced racially-motivated discrimination, harassment and retaliation in the aftermath of the ouster of a Latino police official in 2002, the officers' attorney said Tuesday. Sixteen police officers filed suits against South Gate, a working-class, predominantly Latino city with an annual budget of about $100 million, alleging that they were subjected to racial slurs and false internal affairs investigations, unfairly disciplined, and passed up for promotions.